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Make the important stuff on your website visible

Ask yourself these questions?

How often do you have to search hard on a web page to find the information you’re looking for?

How often is the vital clue hidden down at the bottom of the page?

How often is it difficult to find out on which page the information you want has been put?

I think the answer is far too often!

Then, think about what you do when you can’t find the information?

I know I get fed up and go and look at a different site.

Design is more than pretty pictures

Make sure you know where your user should go and what they need to do

Whilst having a visually stunning website is important – you don’t want your potential client put off by bad images or font selections – it is equally important to design your users’ path around your website. After all, a website is a web which is supposed to capture your customers for you, so you have to make it work like that.

Here are three things to think about when you’re looking at your website:

Is the important information clearly visible when I go onto the page?

Don’t hide contact details and telephone numbers down the bottom of the page if you want people to contact you. Yes, big businesses do hide this information because they want you to use the automated method of getting in touch but as a small business personal contact is paramount.

Where do I want my users to go from this page?

So when they have read your page, where are you sending them next? You don’t want them to think “Well, that was useful” and simply wander away, you want to move them to the next stage? Perhaps you want them to contact you direct from the page, or read more detail. Think about this and then give the use clear routes to follow using “Call to Action” triggers, such as buttons or clear links.

How many clicks does someone need to make before they reach that destination?

People are impatient. Don’t make them click on three buttons when one will do, or they will wander off and not complete the action you want them to.

Good websites don’t happen by accident

None of the three suggestions require you to be a rocket scientist, just to be able to think like your web user. So, whether you’re designing your first site or thinking about how your current one could be improved, do look at these points. It will improve your website and also your chance of doing more business.